Cupola charging equipment



Aug. 2, 1932. A, LENz cUPoLA CHARGING EQUIPMENT Filed June 1o. 1929 2 sheets-sheet 1 Allg. 2, 1932. A, LENZ 1,869,571

CUPOLA CHARGING EQUIPMENT Filed June l0. 1929 2 She'etKs-Sheet 2 2f Il cool'o oooo j, lot i4oo l ooo oloo'z .wol

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OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE CUPOLA CHARGING EQUIPMENT Application led June 10,

This invention relates to cupola furnaces for melting metal and particularly to apparatus for introducing thereinto the metallic ingredients of a charge.

The usual cupola-charging buckets or like containers, which open at the bottom to release their contents, have some internal obstruction such as a center operating cable, center post, or cross bar, with which irregular fragments of metal scrap are likely to become entangled when the bottom is opened, so that the contents, if composed of flashings and similar scrap, are discharged with diiiiculty if at all. Furthermore, owing to the presence in the f bucket of internal obstructions, materials emerging from the bucket become mixed or rearranged during their exit, rendering it impracticable to arrange the metal scrap or other material in the bucket in the stratified order desired for the charge in the cupola.

For these reasons it has been necessary to select costly materials of regular form for charging these buckets.

It is an object of this invention to reduce the costs of steel or other metal to be melted in cupolas by utilizing steel fiashings and other irregular scrap of high quality which by reason of their irregular formations are likely to hook on to the internal mechanism of the usual charging buckets, and which constitute an available high grade material o much lower cost than steel rails or other more regular forms of material suitable for the purpose.

The invention therefore consists of a charging apparatus comprising a bottom opening bucket having no interior obstructions to the discharge of its contents when the bottom is opened, and in a cupola modified to cooperate therewith, whereby pieces of any form may be freely discharged and will be deposited in the cupola in substantially the same arrangement that existed in the bucket.

In the accompanying drawings wherein like parts are designated by like reference characters: n

Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a cupola associated with an improved charging mechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of 1929. Serial No. 369,543.

Fig. 1, illustrating modications in a cupola functioning to facilitate charging;

Fig. 3 is an elevation p an improved charging bucket artly in section of shown in discharging position within the cupola;

Fig. 4 is a 4--4 of Fig. 3;

horizontal section on theE line Fig. 5 is an elevation of a modified form of charging bucket.

cupola; 11 the charging meral 13 indicates the apparatus as other carrier provided with an operators cab 16. charging ram 17 is movable on at right angles to the. track.

10 indicates a the Nu- A. the carrier 14 container or bucket 18 is suspended by hoisting 19 from the charging ram,

and controlling elements such as cables said cables passing over pulleys on the ram and extending to the hoist mechanism,

controlled by an operator in the cab 16. The carrier, are shown diagrammatically only,

ram and controls as these parts are well known in the art.

The charging ment illustrated in Fig.

bucket 18, in the embodihas opposite sides gt 20 to the upper edges of which are secured flanges 2Oa and to the lower parallel edges of which are hinged bottom doors 20. The

pintles 21 of the exterior, as illustrate parts do not obstruct the terial from the the hinges are so positioned at d, that the hinge discharge of mabucket when the doors are opened. Skids 22 are fastened to the lower surfaces of the doors to s and enable it to be readily when detached from the upport the bucket slid over the floor handling mechanism. The bucket as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 is approximately rectangular in plan although the particular form is not material provided the bottom doors may be hinged thereto without offering obstruction to the discharge of material when they are opened.l

The ends of each door arel preferably provided with fianges 23 disposed exteriorly of the end walls of the buck et when the doors The charging.

are closed. The internal corners of the bucket are occupied by concave pieces 24 which extend from bott-om to top in order to eliminate sharp corners within the bucket that might interfere with the free discharge of irregular pieces of metal scrap contained in it.

In order to control and support the bottom doors 20 a link 25 is pivoted at 25 at each end of each door; the links are shown ci the same length and connected to the bottom doors outside of the bucket at corresponding points by means of a metal strap 26a. The upper end of each link is connected at 2.7, symmetrically with respect to each other, to a cross-head 2S secured to a sliding member 29 which is guided between ways formed by the parallel members 30 and 81 bolted to the end walls of the bucket. Each member extends inward beyond the inner surface the member 30 and the slide 29 is held place by the inward projecting portions of the members 31. An intermediate member 32 spaces the slide 29 from the cross-head 28, while rivets or bolts 33 secure said slide, cross-head and spacing member together. A hook or eye 34, integral with or secured to the upper end of each guide 29 serves as a means for connecting the bucket to the cables or other hoisting elements 19 whereby both bucket and load are sustained by the hoisting elements and the opening and closing of the doors controlled. If the sides 2O converge slightly upward, as illustrated, free discharge of the conte-nts isfacilitated.

Above the level of charging floor 11 cupola 10 is provided with two charging openings 40 and 41. The openings is for the purpose of admitting coke or other fuel into the cupola and the opening 41 for the purpose of admitting the metal fragments to be melted. Opening 41 is of greater vertical extent than the opening 40 in order to admit the charging ram, the suspending cables and the metal-laden bucket. The vertical edges of the cupola walls forming the boundaries of these openings are in parallel planes as shown at to afford ample space and free entrance for the described charging bucket; also the wall segment 44 above opening 40 has its inner curved surface continuous with the outer surface of the main wall segments 44a 2) to give increased space for the apparatus. Parallel bucket supporting members 45 extend from the edges of the charging opening 41 to the edges of the charging opening 40 and project toward each other so that the space between said parallel members 1 5 is less than the distance between the open edges of said openings and less than the distance between the outer edges of flanges 2Oa on the bucket, but greater than the distance between the upper portions of the walls 20. The members 45 serve to support the bucket 1S when the hoist and door controlling cables 19 are lowered far enough to allow the flanges 202i to rest on said members 45. *When the bucket is supported on said members 45 slackening of the cables 19 allows the bottom leaves to drop to discharge the metal scrap or other material therein. Members 45, therefore, function somewhat as trips to discharge the load of the bucket inte the cupola. 1n practice the loaded bucket is moved horizontally Vinto the cupola at such a level that the plane of members 45 intersects the bucket below the flanges 20a but well above the bottom.

F ig. 5 discloses a modified form of bucket 180 having bottom doors similar to those shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and .external operating means connected to each end of the bottom doors, said operating means comprising links 250, the low r ends of which are attached to the ends of the doors outside of the bucket while the upper ends are attached symmetrically to pivot-'ed levers 251, serving as guide members, the inner ends of which are slotted as at 252 to receive a pin 253 attached to the hook 254 or equivalent cable on other hoisting .element attaching means. rllhis form of bucket is supported by cables attached to opposite sides as at 255 while a cable or cables for sustaining the bottom doors and bucket is attached to the hook 254 and released to discharge the load.

Buckets or metal fragment containers of either form illustrated and described may be filled with metal pieces of any form arranged or stratified as it is desired to have them rest above a layer of fuel within the cupola. When the container is moved into the cupola and the bottom opened the charge will pass freely from the container and fall as a mass into place in the cupola where it will rest with the parts of the charge in substantially the same order and arrangement in which they were loaded into the container.

Vhile the drawings show one cupola and a charging apparatus, it will be understood that in practice a battery of cupolas are arranged side by side and that the container handling apparatus 13 travels along the rails 15 into position opposite any cupola to be charged.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. in cupola charging equipment the combination of a cupola having a lower combustion portion, an upper charging portion of greater' cross sectional area than the combustion portion, a side charging opening and an opposite recess; a substantially rectangular charging container having a bottom door hinged to the exterior of the container; flanges on two opposite sides of the container in a plane above the hinges of the door; means for charging the container through the opening into the cupola, movable means for controlling the opening and closing of the. door disposed exteriorly of the other two sides of the container and means fixed to the cupola wall on which said flanges rest for supporting the container while the door controlling means moves relative thereto to discharge the contents of the container.

2. In cupola charging equipment the combination of a cupola having a side charging portion provided with a charging opening, parallel container supporting members xed therein, a charging container having external flanges adapted to rest on the parallel supporting members, a bottom door hinged to the exterior of said container, and hoisting means attached to each end of said door outside the container for controlling the opening and closing thereof.

3. In cupola charging equipment the combination of a cupola having a lower combustion portion, an upper charging portion, both circular in transverse section, opposite side charging openings of substantially equal width, a substantially rectangular charging container having bottom doors hinged to the exterior ot the container; controlling means for the doors disposed exteriorly of the container, a pair of parallel supporting members fixed in the cupola, Hanges on the container adapted to support it on said supporting members, and a charging device arranged to suspend and move the container by attachment to the means for controlling the opening and closing of the doors.

4. A cupola having a lower combustion portion, an upper charging portion, both circular in transverse section, said charging portion having opposite openings of equal width, and parallel supporting members fixed at the bottom of the charging portions extending into said openings.

5. In cupola charging equipment, the combination of a cupola having a lower combustion portion, an upper charging portion, both circular in transverse section, a charging opening in the wall of the charging portion, a rectangular container having bottom doors hinged to the exterior of the container, controlling means for the doors disposed exteriorly of the container, opposite flanges on the exterior of the container, a charging mechanism including a ram adapted to enter the charging opening, and hoisting cables adapted to be attached to the means for controlling the bottom doors of the container, a recess in the wall of the charging portion of the cupola opposite the charging opening of a size to receive the end of the container entered thru the charging opening, and parallel supporting members fixed in the cupola wall to receive the flanges on the container, the ends of said supporting members extending into the charging opening and opposite recess adjacent their side edges.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

ARNOLD LENZ. 

